Farming on the edge: Architectural Goals

Abstract

This research investigates how advances in Internet of Things (IoT) and availability of internet connection would enable Edge Solutions to promote smart utilization of existing machines at the edge. The presented results are based on experiments performed in real scenarios using the proposed solution. Whereas scenarios were cloned from real environments it is important to have in mind that experiments were performed with low load in terms of data and small number of devices in terms of distribution. As result of extensive architecture investigation for an optimal edge solution and its possible correlation to industrial applications, this paper will provide evidences supporting the use of edge solutions in challenging conditions which arise at the edge, including smart factories and smart agriculture. The present work assumes that the reader has some exposition to Edge computing, Cloud computing and software development. The paper will present some important findings on this area, compare main architectural aspects and will provide a broad view of how edge solutions might be built for this particular scenario. Having discussed how the ideal architecture works and having provided an overview about how it may be applied to industrial plants, the final section of this paper addresses how artificial intelligence will fit into edge solutions, forming a new source of “smart capabilities” to existing environments.